Die Stem van Suid-Afrika (known in English as The Call of South Africa) was the national anthem of South Africa from 1957 to 1994, and one of two national anthems, between 1994 and 1997.

History

Die Stem was originally a poem in Afrikaans written by CJ Langenhoven in May 1918, with the music composed by the Reverend ML de Villiers in 1921.

It was first widely used by the South African Broadcasting Corporation in the 1920s, which played it, along with God Save the King, at the close of daily broadcasts. It was sung publicly for the first time on May 31st, 1928.

It was not translated into English until 1952, and God Save the Queen did not cease to have official status until 1957.

Controversy

The anthem was universally disliked by black South Africans, who saw it as triumphalist and associated it with the apartheid regime. When apartheid began to be dismantled in the early 1990s, South African teams were readmitted to international sporting events. However, the African National Congress insisted that Die Stem should not be used, especially after it was sung at a rugby test match against New Zealand in 1992. This angered the ANC, which had not been consulted on the choice of anthem. At the Olympic Games in Barcelona that year, Ode to Joy was chosen instead, along with a neutral Olympic flag.

Reconciliation

In spite of this, Die Stem retained official status after the advent of black majority rule in 1994, having equal status with Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika, which had long been used by the ANC as a hymn. In a remarkable gesture of reconciliation in 1995, Die Stem was sung by a black choir at the Rugby World Cup final, and Nelson Mandela, then President of South Africa, donned a rugby jersey featuring another symbol of apartheid, the springbok.

New Anthem

Despite the gesture of reconciliation, the practice of singing two different anthems, inevitably, became cumbersome. In 1997, following the adoption of a new constitution, a new hybrid anthem combining Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika and Die Stem, was introduced.

Lyrics

Verse 1

Uit die blou van onse hemel,
Uit die diepte van ons see,
Oor ons ewige gebergtes
Waar die kranse antwoord gee.
Deur ons vèr verlate vlaktes
Met die kreun van ossewa.
Ruis die stem van ons geliefde,
Van ons land Suid-Afrika.
Ons sal antwoord op jou roepstem,
Ons sal offer wat jy vra:
Ons sal lewe, ons sal sterwe,
Ons vir jou, Suid-Afrika.

Ringing out from our blue heavens,
From the deep seas breaking round,
Over everlasting mountains,
Where the echoing crags resound,
Through the plains where creaking wagons,
Cut their trails into the earth,
Comes the calling of our country,
Of the land that gave us birth.
At thy call we shall not falter,
Firm and steadfast we shall stand,
At thy will to live or perish,
O South Africa, dear land.

Verse 2

In die merg van ons gebeente,
in ons hart en siel en gees,
In ons roem op ons verlede,
In ons hoop op wat sal wees.
In ons wil en werk en wandel,
Van ons wieg tot aan ons graf.
Deel geen ander land ons liefde,
Trek geen ander trou ons af.
Vaderland, ons sal die adel,
Van jou naam met ere dra:
Waar en trou as Afrikaners,
Kinders van Suid-Afrika.

In our body and our spirit,
For our inmost heart held fast;
For the promise of our future,
And the glory of our past;
For our will, our work, our striving,
From the cradle to the grave-
There's no land that shares our loving,
And no bond that can enslave.
Thou hast borne us and we know thee,
May our deeds to all proclaim
Our enduring love and service
To thy honour and thy name.

Verse 3

In die songloed van ons somer,
in ons winternag se kou,
In die lente van ons liefde,
in die lanfer van ons rou.
By die klink van huweliks-klokkies,
by die kluit-klap op die kis.
Streel jou stem ons nooit verniet nie,
Weet jy waar jou kinders is.
Op jou roepstem ons nooit se nee nie,
Se ons altyd, altyd ja:
Om te lewe, om te sterwe -
Ja, ons kom, Suid-Afrika.

In the golden warmth of summer,
In the chill of winter's air,
In the surging life of springtime,
In the autumn of despair;
When the wedding bells are chiming,
Or when those we love depart,
Thou dost know us for thy children
And dost take us to thy heart.
Loudly peals the answering chorus;
We are thine, and we shall stand,
Be it life or death, to answer
To thy call, beloved land.

Verse 4

Op U Almag vas vertrouend het ons vadere gebou:
Skenk ook ons die krag, o Here!
Om te handhaaf en te hou.
Dat die erwe van ons vadere
Vir ons kinders erwe bly:
Knegte van die Allerhoogste,
Teen die hele wêreld vry.
Soos ons vadere vertrou het,
Leer ook ons vertrou, o Heer:
Met ons land en met ons nasie
Sal dit wel wees, God regeer.

In thy power, Almighty, trusting,
Did our fathers build of old;
Strengthen then, O Lord, their children
To defend, to love, to hold-
That the heritage they gave us
For our children yet may be;
Bondsmen only to the Highest
And before the whole world free.
As our fathers trusted humbly,
Teach us, Lord to trust Thee still;
Guard our land and guide our people
In Thy way to do Thy will.